A landmark judgement at the Court of Appeal has determined that using length of employment as one of the criteria in a redundancy selection process does not fall foul of age discrimination legislation.

The long-running case of Rolls-Royce v Unite the Union centred on negotiations to decide upon the criteria that would be used to select workers for redundancy in two Rolls-Royce plants in Derby.

Unite wanted length of service to be included as a criterion to help protect the jobs of older workers, while Rolls-Royce wanted to abandon this factor, fearing that it indirectly discriminated against younger employees and was hence unlawful.

The selection system that Rolls-Royce had previously used - and which the union wished to retain - assessed workers in five performance categories: achievement, self-motivation, expertise, versatility and personal contribution. Workers with lower scores would face redundancy first.

After the assessment, however, the workers were then awarded an additional point for every year of service they had with the company. It was this criterion that proved controversial and led to the case being brought.

The court found that the practice of awarding extra points to reflect time served with the company - a practice used by many organisations in similar circumstances - did not constitute unlawful age discrimination, and may be considered a benefit for those with longer service.

The court also determined that, even in if the criteria did indirectly discriminate against younger workers, it could be reasonably justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate business aim.

It is important to note, however, that the success of the union’s case does not mean that employers can use length of service alone as a basis for redundancy selection - time served with the company was only one of many selection criteria and was never the sole deciding factor in determining which workers should be made redundant.

This decision clarifies the law in this difficult area, and still leaves scope for negotiation between employers and employees.

Derek Simpson, the joint general secretary of Unite, stated: “We are delighted with this decision. The ruling sets a precedent, where other factors are equal, for protecting older workers from the effects of redundancy.”

Technorati Tags: Age Discrimination, Redundancy Criteria, Rolls-Royce